Childcare
by W5Lex
Summary: Dimitri notices that Erin is worried about something, and he offers his services.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've said that this one will be less plausible, but thinking about it now, BBC/Kudos didn't really give us enough to go on in the last series. For all I know, this may have been possible, but we didn't see enough of Erin and Dimitri's relationship at the end to know. So, I'm going to try to upload a chapter every day, though I go back to school this week so it may not be possible, definitely won't be leaving more than two days though. And finally, here you go…**

Dimitri frowns as he notices Erin, watching as she throws her head into her hands in annoyance, stress clouding her eyes. He swiftly returns his eyes to the computer screen in front of him as Harry strides through the grid, then allows them to go back her as he just as quickly leaves.

Dimitri looks around the room for a few seconds – just Calum and a techie – then pushes himself out of his seat and towards Erin's desk. He sits gently on the edge of her table and smiles softly as she looks up at him from her chair. She gives a half-hearted smile back, and Dimitri's expression rearranges into one of concern.

"Everything okay?" he asks, his voice full of sincerity.

She nods a little too vigorously, and grasps the computer mouse with her hand. Dimitri intercepts the hand, inadvertently holding it in his own as he realises his reluctance to let go. She is forced to look up at him.

Taking advantage, he lightly tugs on her hand and pulls her out of the room behind him. "Wha-" Erin begins to ask, but gives up just as quickly; she knows what he's like.

"You look like you could do with the fresh air." They stand outside, leant against a wall.

She looks down at her feet. "Such a charmer," Erin can't help but smile.

Dimitri eyes her with slight worry. "You know what I mean." He tucks his hands behind him to stop himself from reaching out to her. "What's wrong?"

Erin turns to him, moving to lean her side against the wall. "It's nothing, really. Just babysitter trouble." He nods. Admittedly, it sounds like nothing, but he can't help but hate guys that brush such problems aside as though it doesn't concern them, so he pushes on.

His eyes don't leave her, and Erin senses that he is waiting for more. She sighs, why does he care so much? "I'm supposed to be going to a funeral up north, and I didn't really want to take her with me." At the surprised look, she offers more. "It's not anyone I knew particularly well; my mother's cousin. Rosie never even met her so I didn't see the point. The babysitter was going to look after her for the weekend but she rang to say she can't do it, and the rest of my family are all going up there." She shakes her head; being a spook leaves very little time for 'normal' friends, and she's seldom happy leaving Rosie with friends from school for anything longer than an evening. She can't help but be overprotective considering her unusual occupation and the recent scare. "It's fine. I'll just have to take her with me."

Concern is raised in Dimitri's eyes once again. He thinks for a couple of seconds. "Is there no one else here in London?" She shakes her head, he shrugs. "I could take her." He can barely believe he's said the words himself. He blinks a couple of times, swallows, thinks it through. He figures it could work. He's met Rosie only twice since her kidnap, but she seemed to like him. He's never really looked after anyone other than himself, but he deals with terrorists and bombs on a daily basis; how hard can it be?

Erin's eyes grow wide and she looks up at him in shock. "What? No, don't be stupid. I'll just take her." She honestly hadn't expected him to say anything of the sort.

He takes out one of his hands and lets it rest on her arm. "Look, you just said yourself that you didn't want to take her with you. I've met her a couple of times, I could look after her whilst you're away. It would be good to get to know her a little." He smiles the smile that makes it so hard for her to argue with him. How can he look so effortlessly attractive, yet so kind and gentle at the same time? "When are you going?"

She splutters a little before regaining some composure. "Well I leave tomorrow but you probably have work. Honestly, don't worry about it."

He shakes his head with another grin. "I've worked non-stop the last month, Harry will give me the time off." He senses something more and he dips his head again to level with her. "She'll be safe with me. I promise."

She gives him another disapproving look. "Dee, I'm not letting you take time off to look after my daughter when there's no reason for her not to come with me." She wonders whether a normal mother would be worried by leaving their daughter with a colleague; she's not, for some reason with Dimitri it doesn't even cross her mind.

The grin doesn't falter. "Well, I know when I was six," he's impressed he's managed to remember her age, "I would have opted out of a funeral, given the chance. Isn't that reason enough?" Another pause, he's winning her over. "I'll take Rosie." He says the words slowly. "How long will you be gone?"

She meets his gaze again; he's still smiling. Apparently, he really _doesn't _mind doing this for her. She shakes herself out of a daze. "Umm. Well, I leave tomorrow afternoon, and the funeral is Saturday so I should be back by late afternoon on Saturday." She was going to stay until Sunday, but she doesn't want to cause any more trouble for Dimitri than she already is.

He nods and drops his hand. "Great. I'll take tomorrow afternoon off, and I have the weekend off anyway." He smiles, no way she can argue now.

Erin relaxes her body in defeat, and has one last stab. "You don't have things…" She trails off at his defiant shake of the head. "Ok," she says. "If you're sure."

They talk for a few more minutes before turning back to the building. Erin puts a hand on his arm. "Dee, thank you." He nods her appreciation away and asks for a few more details as they head for the stairs.

**A/N: Please review, I'd love to know what your first impressions are…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I just wanted to mention something that I meant to warn you of before the first chapter. Though most of this is new, there are a couple of elements that are similar to one of my other fics. Hopefully not so similar that it ruins it though. **

"You remember Dimitri, don't you darling?" Erin and Rosie sit in the car outside his flat, the time is half past three. Erin has just collected her daughter from a day at school, and has been dreading this moment all day. It's the first time she's left Rosie since the day she was kidnapped almost two months ago, and though she's leaving her with a man that she whole-heartedly trusts, she can't help the slight apprehension that surfaces.

Rosie nods, and Erin feels foolish for worrying about it so much when her daughter is clearly not concerned about spending the night at the house of a man that she actually doesn't know all that well. "He came to get me from the bad man's house." Maybe that's why; maybe Rosie associates Dimitri with being safe, and so the prospect of staying with him isn't so daunting.

All the same, Erin can't help but wince at the memory. She nods, "You're going to stay with him tonight. Mummy is going to Yorkshire for some work, but I'll be back tomorrow." She hates lying, but they were short on time this morning so she resolves to tell Rosie where she really went once she's back from the funeral.

Rosie nods again and pushes open the car door. Erin retrieves the small holdall from the boot of the car and follows her up the steps. She looks for his name on the intercom register, recognises an alias, and smiles. Flat D, D for Dimitri. She presses the button and waits for his voice.

Dimitri sees Erin's face in the monitor and holds down the button, "Hang on, I'm coming down." He doesn't bother with shoes as he walks straight out the door.

Erin pushes open the front door as it buzzes, and Dimitri jumps down the last few stairs and appears a few seconds later. He has the bag out of Erin's hand in seconds, and they ride the lift up. Dimitri lowers himself to Rosie's level and reintroduces himself. "You remember me?" It's only been a couple of weeks since he last saw her.

She nods, "Dee!" He laughs and they make their way down the hall until he pushes open his door. Rosie runs into the flat without warning, and Dimitri pauses in the doorway, leaning against the frame and folding his arms across his chest.

"You leaving now?" He watches her face, trying to identify the emotions and gauge her mood.

"Yeah, my stuff's in the car." She nods, looking nervous. "I probably should have told you this yesterday, but she's had some trouble sleeping since…" She trails off, Dimitri understands.

He detects the worry in her eyes; worry at leaving her daughter alone. Dimitri gives a soft smile, "We'll be fine. Don't worry, I can be mature when I want to be." His grin says not, but she's inclined to believe him.

She laughs quietly, and Rosie comes back out to offer her mother a hug and a kiss goodbye. "Behave for Dee."

Rosie gives her an innocent nod. Dimitri leans forward to peck Erin on the cheek – an unusual gesture - and he shuts the door as she disappears down the hallway. He turns to Rosie and returns her smile. "You want to see your room?"

She nods and he grabs the bag as they walk. Rosie takes his hand the same way she had the day he had collected her, and Dimitri marvels again at how delicate it feels in his. He throws the bag onto the dresser and watches as she looks around the room. Young eyes do that; they take in every single minute detail; not dissimilar to her mother, he notices. He continues to watch as she makes her way around the room, curiously lifting and inspecting a mirror on the dresser, and opening each drawer individually, only to sigh when she finds it empty.

Apparently satisfied with the room, Rosie turns to Dimitri. He lowers himself to her height again, and looks her in the eye. "What d'you wanna do Rose? We can watch some telly, we can draw, paint?"

She narrows her eyes, thinking about it for a few seconds, before she erupts into a yawn. He smiles at the way her cute little face scrunches up and then smooths again. "Do you have any films?"

"Sure," he says. He seems to remember buying a few age appropriate one's for when his sister and her daughter had visited. "They're under the TV. Go take a look, I'll make us some drinks."

She skips towards the living room as Dimitri walks to the kitchen. He quickly dilutes a couple of glasses of squash, and places them on the coffee table as he sits down next to Rosie. "So, what are we watching?"

She beams at him, "Toy Story." Dimitri clicks the play button, and smiles as she leans against him. That's the beauty of kids, they're quick to make friends, quick to reward a friendly face with the trust they feel they deserve. The familiar music starts, and Rosie's breaths grow slow as she taps her fingers to the beat of the sound.

They both relax and Dimitri can't help but enjoy the classic. The first scene emerges and the film comes flooding back to him in an instant; everyone has a weakness for Buzz and Woody.

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, please continue to do so, it means a lot :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours later, the credits roll the length of the screen and Dimitri looks down at Rosie. She smiles at him the way only children can, and then hides her eyes against his arm. "Dinner?" he asks.

She nods into him and lets him get up, stretching his long legs out as he straightens his body. "Can I help?" she requests, her voice shy but pleading. She's comfortable enough in his company that she'll ask him, but not confident enough to presume his answer.

Dimitri nods. "Yeah, of course." He clears away the empty glasses and lifts her up to wash her hands before helping her into one of the seats at the island counters.

He quickly measures out all the ingredients for a homemade pizza base, then pushes them towards Rosie, instructing her to add them all together in the mixing bowl and stir. She adds them with a satisfied smile, laughing as a cloud of flour appears above the bowl. When the dough is close to finished, she discards the wooden spoon and digs in with her hands, gleefully spreading as much of it as possible all over her.

Having prepared the toppings, Dimitri helps her, grimacing and laughing as she smears flour all over his face.

He offers her a chopping board and a rolling pin and Rosie attempts to flatten the dough as much as she can. Dimitri finishes it off for her and helps her to spread the tomato sauce over the pizza base. He turns to wash his hands – still looking as though hypothermia has got to him due to the powdered face - and by the time his eyes return to the pizza, Rosie is giggling at the masses of cheese that she has covered it in.

Dimitri chuckles along with her. "It's a good job we both like cheese." She finishes it off with a slightly less generous coating of ham, and he puts it in the oven.

"Dee?" she asks.

"Yes Rosie," he turns back to her curiously, smiling; he's relieved that she still seems to like him.

"Are you a spy like Mummy?" The question catches him off guard, and he considers lying to her. But he remembers what Erin said the first time he met Rosie, and decides against it – she doesn't lie to her.

He looks straight at her, eyes clear of dishonesty. "Yes, yeah I am."

She nods, seemingly satisfied with that answer, and lets him lift her closer to the tap so she can wash her hands again. Dimitri does the same; only he has to rinse his face as well.

He lets her wander the flat for the next twenty minutes, keeping a watchful eye. She opens drawers, looks at the few pictures that he has on display, asks him who the people are – he answers truthfully; if Erin doesn't lie to her, why should he? Finally, she wanders into his bedroom and returns just as he is taking the pizzas out of the oven.

She sits at the dining table and waits patiently whilst he cuts it into pieces and gets out two plates. As they eat, he asks her about school. Rosie tells him about her teachers, her homework, her school projects, and finally her friends.

"Who's _your_ best friend?" she asks.

He thinks about that for a few seconds. Rosie raises her eyebrows expectantly and Dimitri smiles. "I'm thinking." Her face clears now that she knows he'll answer. She takes another bite of pizza and Dimitri pauses to think. Truthfully, it's probably Erin. She knows the most about him, and the unusual lifestyle has – similarly to Erin – left him short of friends; not that he particularly wants anymore than he already has. The people he works with in the grid are a surrogate family; the only ones who know the whole truth about what they all do. "Your mum," he finally answers.

Rosie nods, as though maybe she'd expected that. Then she smiles, her eyes lighting up as though some new piece of information has suddenly entered her consciousness. "What about me?"

He laughs, "Oh. Well, yeah; obviously you as well." She continues to eat her pizza, and now it's her turn to continue the questioning.

By the end of the meal, Dimitri struggles to think of anything about each other they've yet to learn. Having Rosie eating with him has doubled the amount of time his meal has taken, but he's enjoyed it. Eating alone night after night can get lonely, and he can't even remember the last time he's talked so much.

He checks the time; it's just gone six. "Bath or shower?" he calls from the kitchen.

"Bath," Rosie calls back.

Dimitri walks to the room at the end of the hall and runs a bath, testing the temperature before emptying a fraction of the contents of her bag onto the empty bottom shelf in the bathroom. "Call if you need anything," he says as he semi-pushes her towards the bathroom, pointing to her stuff and then shutting the door behind him. He cleans up dinner whilst she's in there, and picks up the phone when it rings at half past six.

"Hello?"

"Dee, it's me." Dimitri smiles at the sound of Erin's voice, and leans against the counter.

"Hey, how's everything up there?"

"As good as you could expect from a funeral." He nods into the phone and waits for her to continue. "How's Rosie?"

Dimitri throws the tea towel back towards the sink, and heads in the direction of the bathroom. "Just had a bath. She's fine; you want a word with her?" He doesn't wait for her answer. "Let me just check if she's out."

"Thanks," she says. Dimitri presses the phone to his shoulder and knocks on the door.

"Rosie, you out of the bath?"

She pulls open the door, dressed in slightly oversized pyjamas, the bottom of her hair a little damp from her time in the water. She leaves her toothbrush on the sink, and guessing who it is, she holds a hand out for the phone.

Dimitri cleans up the bathroom a little whilst he listens to Rosie's end of the conversation. Five minutes later she hands the phone back to him. "I should be back by about six tomorrow," Erin says as he returns the phone to his ear.

"Ok, we'll see you then."

Rosie is in bed not long after the call ends, and Dimitri heads for the shower.

**A/N: Hope the chapter didn't disappoint, please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Having showered and watched over an hour of TV, the tiring last couple of months Dimitri has had begin to catch up with him. His blinks grow further apart, and his limbs grow impossibly heavy as he drifts towards sleep. With one quick burst of energy, he pushes himself off of the sofa to avoid spending the night there. He looks over the room briefly, tidying a couple of things away before brushing his teeth and heading for his bedroom.

As he walks past the spare room, Dimitri hears a soft noise. He looks towards the door for a couple of seconds before gently pushing it ajar and poking his head around the door. He frowns into the dark room when he realises that the noise is coming from Rosie. He's turns the dimmer switch a minute amount, just about revealing her form on the bed. She's clutching a bear tightly to her chest, and her head moves from side to side, looking slightly restless. Dimitri walks over to the bed and kneels next to her face, giving her arm a light nudge so as not to frighten her.

"Rosie," he whispers. She makes another noise, slightly louder than the previous spell. "Rosie, it's alight." His hand does more than nudge this time, remaining on the arm in an attempt at comfort on his part.

Her eyes flicker open and she looks around the room frantically for a few seconds as if expecting something to jump out at her. Dimitri turns on the small light beside her bed so that she can see there's nothing there, and he wipes away the single tear that rolls down her cheek. Her skin is still as flawless as earlier, but a soft red colours the sides of her face.

She seems to relax ever so slightly once she's convinced she's safe, and her small arms reach out for him. Dimitri lets Rosie circle her arms around him and he hugs her close. Half a minute later, she still hasn't let go. Dimitri tries to gently ease himself out of her hold, but Rosie lets out a quiet whimper and refuses to loosen her grip.

He manages to pull away enough that he can look into her eyes, still filled with excess liquid. "Rose, do you want me to stay for a bit?"

She nods a little frantically with wide eyes, still scared by the nightmare. "Okay, just let go for a sec."

Her eyes stay on him as she lies back down beneath the covers, and he walks around the bed to lay the other side of her. Immediately, she holds onto his arm and shuts her eyes.

Dimitri waits patiently for her breaths to grow deep and even, forcing his eyes open and focusing on the dim light still coming from overhead. When he hears the final stage of relaxation in her breathing, he slips out from behind her, and goes to sleep in his own bed.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, not all that much to add to this one. The next one is also short, so unless I add something significant, I'll be uploading two tomorrow. Please keep reviewing, I'd love to hear from a few more of you. **


	5. Chapter 5

Rosie wakes suddenly, and though she doesn't notice, her breathing is shallow and far too quick. The nightmare has woken her up, leaving her too hot and too nervous to let herself drift back towards the bad dreams. Her eyes flash open, and she lies in silence for a few seconds, listening for intruders as her breathing gradually begins to calm. When she's decided that there are none, she lets out a short sob, wishing her mother were here.

The images that seemed to haunt her few hours of sleep flash back to her. The face of the man that abducted her two months ago comes to the fore, and she squeezes her eyes, trying to push the image away before she can remember any more.

She reaches for the switch of the light next to the bed, her small body shifting closer to the edge. Rosie's hands shake slightly and her lips quiver, but she flicks it on and her wide eyes dart around the room, scanning for anything that shouldn't be there. When they find nothing, she looks towards the window.

Rosie can't tell whether it's morning yet, but the darkness outside and the stillness of the flat scare her. Tentatively, she pushes back the duvet and pulls along her bear as she opens the door. The soft light in the hall comforts her a little, and she looks around the flat for a minute - again longing for her mother - before deciding she'll have to settle for the next best thing. She wipes away a tear with the sleeve of her pyjamas as she quietly pads down the short hall to the door of the second bedroom.

She opens it slowly, and she can't help that her eyes also scan his room, looking for anything or anyone familiar. "Dee," she whispers, her tiny voice barely breaking the near silence.

Dimitri stirs for a moment before lifting his head and looking at the tiny silhouette in his doorway. She looks small, upset, worried…scared. He does his best to offer a comforting smile as he props himself on his arms, and looking for a way to reassure the girl and get her back to sleep as quickly as possible, he moves to the edge of the double bed and beckons her over. Deciding he's wearing enough clothes to prevent this from being deemed massively inappropriate – especially now that they're 'best friends' - he lifts an arm and lets her slide in next to him.

Clutching her bear in one hand, she settles her neck on his outstretched arm, and rests the other hand on his stomach under the covers. He curls the arm around her, rests his hand on her arm, and forces his eyes to stay open until he can hear the change in her breaths. Evidently frightened by what Dimitri can only assume was another bad dream, it's almost half an hour before Rosie's breaths grow slow and even; and only then does he relax.

Once again satisfied that she's feeling safe, he lets his own eyes slide shut, and falls into a deep sleep.

**A/N: I ended up lengthening this a little, but two chapters is what I promised, and so two chapters is what you will get. I'm about to start editing, so the next will be up inside the next half an hour.**


	6. Chapter 6

Rosie shuffles away from Dimitri's grasp, and the movement prompts his slow awakening. He smiles at her as she pushes away from him and stands up with her bear still clutched to her side.

Rosie scolds him for being lazy, instructing Dimitri to get up. "It's almost half past ten," she complains, drawing the sentence out. She discards the bear and follows him into the kitchen, waiting as patiently as a child can as he cooks pancakes; he doesn't usually, but he figures they could both use it after that night.

As he flips them, Dimitri silently wonders whether to bring last night up. He feels as though it's probably the adult thing to do, and then characteristically decides against it. He resolves to tell Erin later; she can talk to Rosie.

"What do you want to do today?" he asks as he throws the meal onto the plates and sits down opposite her. "We could go to the zoo?" He watches as she coats her meal in chocolate sauce, somehow managing to cover more of the plate than the pancakes themselves.

She smiles, and her eyes light up in a sudden burst of excitement, all trace of her upsetting night gone immediately. "The zoo!" Dimitri can't help but laugh at her, and as they finish eating she enthusiastically details her last trip to the zoo.

Dimitri piles the plates and cutlery into the dishwasher and brushes his teeth. He pulls on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then surrounding his shoulders with a coat and slipping into a pair of worn trainers.

Rosie appears a minute or so later in coat and hat; the November weather is beginning to kick in. They leave the flat and Dimitri locks the door behind them, leading the way down to the car.

The weather stays dry, and they walk through London Zoo, hand in hand for the majority of the day. After several complaints of sore legs, and numerous point blank refutes against letting Dimitri take her home, he lifts Rosie over his head and onto his shoulders. She rests her hands on Dimitri's head as he holds tightly to her legs, and they continue walking for another hour.

"Rosie, stay still." She freezes in place as Dimitri holds his phone in front of them and touches the capture button. He takes the picture of them; it shows Dimitri with Rosie sat on his shoulders, an orangutan behind them, his full focus on the banana in his hands. He sends the picture to Erin, _"All fine on our end :)"_

**A/N: Hope you've all enjoyed those two chapters. Pleaaseee review, it means so much.**


	7. Chapter 7

Dimitri and Rosie laugh as they watch the penguins being fed, and at the end of the day they leave having walked for hours, the last one of which is spent with a stuffed penguin in tow. Dimitri can't help that the happiness emanating from Rosie rubs off on him, and he gladly lets it come. After the last couple of months, a light-hearted day with an innocent six-year-old is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Though the weather is cold, the sun is still shining as they make their way back across the car park. Dimitri opens the door for Rosie as she clambers into the backseat with the penguin, and makes his way around to the other side, lowering himself into the vehicle diagonally in front of her.

Dimitri drives slightly slower than usual as they move in the direction of the flat. He takes a call from the office on the way, clipping on the headset and making a second to assure his own mother that he'll drop round after work one night this week.

By the time they get home the time is four o'clock and the light is dimming. The temperature has fallen a little, and Rosie complains about the cold so Dimitri turns up the heat and runs her a bath the same as the previous night. She doesn't take long, emerging twenty minutes later in the same baggy pyjamas, ready for her mother to pick her up, and puts another DVD in the player. They both collapse into the sofa and watch in silence; Rosie has apparently chosen the second of the Toy Story movies for tonight.

By the end of the film it's six o'clock and Dimitri's phone pings. His eyes settle on the caller ID, and he swipes a finger immediately, taking the call and holding the phone to his ear. Erin sounds calmer than she has in a while; strange after a funeral, but that's what being a spook can do to you. He waits patiently for the purpose of her call as she speaks to him; she won't be back for another couple of hours.

He assures her it's not a problem, and Rosie doesn't seem to mind either. Dimitri brings some fish fingers and chips to her as she watches a blissfully meaningless cartoon. He fixes up a plate for himself and finds himself strangely enjoying the subject of her interest. Cartoons have changed a little since he was young, but some of the familiar faces still seem to be around.

It takes him a while to notice that Rosie has fallen asleep. He lifts her as gently as possible, walking slowly to his bedroom in the hope that sleeping in the same bed as the previous night may help her. He holds onto her with one arm whilst he pushes back the covers and lays her down softly. As he pulls the duvet back over her, she wakes slightly, and so he sits in the chair beside the bed for a few more minutes then walks back out to the living room.

He slumps back into the sofa and continues watching until the end of the cartoon, shaking his head at his own immaturity.

**A/N: Reviews all much appreciated. Keep 'em coming ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello! Sorry this is so late. I PROMISE that we will be a chapter a day from now on, though there are only one or two more two go. Enjoy…**

The intercom buzzes half an hour later at a quarter to eight, and Dimitri reaches up for the button to stop the noise from waking Rosie. As he stands, Erin's face appears on the small display and he buzzes her up, waiting in the doorway for her to reach his door. A small smile plays upon her lips as she strides purposefully down the hall, and it grows as she notices him watching her.

She smiles widely at him and looks into the quiet flat for Rosie, venturing in as Dimitri clears the doorway. He turns to look at her, biting his lip for a second as he waits for Erin to say something. When it becomes clear that she isn't going to, he starts. "We went to the zoo, and Rosie was tired." He pauses, looking down apologetically, "So she's asleep."

Erin runs that through her mind and finds her smile growing as she casts her mind back to the photo he'd sent her. The thought of them spending the afternoon at London Zoo strangely satisfies her. She nods and he raises his eyebrows questioningly. "You want a drink?"

She shakes her head, vaguely motioning towards the street outside. "Thanks, but I'm driving."

Dimitri looks down at his feet for a second, wondering whether he's about to take this a step too far. He looks back up to her before his brain gets the chance to talk him out of it. "She's been asleep for a while. If you want…you can stay? You can crash with Rosie, I'll take the spare room?"

"The spare?"

Dimitri blushes slightly and his eyes immediately dart away from her face. "Oh, yeah." He thinks of the best way to explain. "Sorry, she had a nightmare so I lay in bed with her for a bit last night. Then she woke up again in the night, and it was late so she got in with me." The blush reddened. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind, I just figure-"

She cuts him off with a shake of the head. Dimitri's sensitivity is one of the things Erin loves the most about him; his apparent willingness to not only stay with her daughter after a nightmare, but to let her get into bed with him to avoid it happening again; and then his embarrassment as her tries to explain the motive to her. "My daughter – who you barely know – got into bed with you last night, and you feel the need to apologize?"

He shrugs and the worried face transforms into the patented Dimitri smirk. "So, you wanna stay or…" he trails off.

She nods, "Umm, yeah sure. Thanks." Dimitri hands her a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses as he takes her keys and runs down to get her bag from the car

**A/N: Pleassee review. Bye x**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi – I am sooo sorry I didn't upload this yesterday. I was at the England game at Wembley so I was out till late. Sorry :( There is only one chapter left after this, and I can 100% guarantee it will be up tomorrow. Enjoy…**

Dimitri makes his way back up to the flat and collapses back into the sofa, joining Erin with another dazed smile. Having her sat in the open-plan living space seems to light the whole place up. She hands him a glass of wine and he takes a mouthful, hesitating for a few seconds before swallowing and setting the glass down on the coffee table in front of them. He lifts his legs and rests them on the small platform, stretching out his arms before relaxing.

"How was she?" Erin asks, "Apart from the sleeping thing."

Dimitri nods, "Fine." He quickly re-evaluates. "Great actually; she's brilliant." He can't help but smile at the thought of the last twenty-four hours.

Erin smiles at his expression; she hasn't seen a non-relative speak so fondly of Rosie in a long time; or ever, in fact. "She said you're best friends?"

Dimitri laughs and sub-consciously drapes an arm across the back of the sofa. "Yeah, though I think your name may have been mentioned somewhere there too."

Erin looks down at her glass for a moment, takes a sip. She takes a moment to wonder whether that should surprise her; it doesn't. He would certainly be the first person she would think of had she been asked the question. "You hungry? I can heat up some pizza?"

Erin tries to convince him that she's not, but Dimitri can spot a lie a mile off, _especially _when it's her. He returns a few minutes later, offering the plate as he resumes his previous position.

Erin looks at it for a moment and Dimitri provides an explanation. "We made it last night. I'm afraid Rose may have gone a little overboard with the cheese."

Erin nods and laughs, silently impressed that they not only manage to survive, but through cooking their own food from scratch. She's also impressed at the casual use of Rosie's slightly shortened name; she's never let anyone but Erin call her that before, not even Erin's mother.

She begins to eat and Dimitri asks about the funeral, his intent gaze unrelenting. She offers an apology for being so late; she couldn't get away as soon as she had hoped. Erin continues with the story, lingering on a description of a fight between the deceased's son and daughter. Dimitri can't help but laugh, and selfish though it may be, he's glad she doesn't seem to be upset.

Erin walks away to the kitchen with the empty glasses, taking her first proper look at the flat (which really looks like its more deserving of the 'apartment' or 'even the 'penthouse' label) as she loads them into the dishwasher. Dimitri follows with the plates, and as he closes the door to the appliance, he turns and finds himself in dangerously close proximity to Erin.

His lips part slightly as he is caught off guard, and he looks down at her with smouldering eyes. Dimitri considers trying to stop himself proceeding with this, but he dismisses the thought faster than it presents itself. He maintains the short distance for a few more seconds, prolonging the moment of anticipation as she looks back at him with those beautiful blue eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, deciding against it as she realises her reluctance to break the silence that they've fallen into.

Neither makes any effort to move until Dimitri finally lowers his mouth to hers, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, and pulling away almost immediately to gauge his reception; as much as he wants this, Dimitri is not prepared to push Erin into something that she doesn't want. Still, his eyes stay locked to hers, and neither says anything.

Erin's gaze drifts to his lips for a moment, and sensing his caution, she pushes herself up onto her toes, and presses her lips to his. They stay close for longer this time, and Dimitri lifts Erin slightly, shifting to enable her to sit atop the counter. Her hands move to his neck, and then she runs her fingers through his soft hair, sighing with pleasure as they come up momentarily to take a breath.

Dimitri works to keep the kiss slow, gentle, but the passion keeps them entangled in each other. A minute or so later, he reluctantly pulls away. His hands drops from their place in her hair, moving to plant them either side of her body, both pinning her to the spot and supporting his weight on the counter.

Sat atop the counter, Erin has an inch on him, and his slouching extends it to a few more. Dimitri looks up at her and watches as her eyes flicker, and she meets his gaze again. The eye contact panics her, and her next words come out flustered. "Sorry, I-"

He cuts her off with another short kiss to ease the nerves, and he points to the bathroom. "The shower's through there." He points to his room. "Rosie is asleep in my room, you can join her." He points to the guest room. "If you need me, I'll be in that one."

He pulls her off of the counter, and lowers Erin, and Dimitri kisses her until her feet are flat on the floor. He maintains the contact for a few more seconds, and when they pull apart, Erin wears a shy smile, Dimitri his usual smirk.

Dimitri waits for her to grab her bag and head for the bathroom, and he walks to his bedroom. He grabs his pyjama trousers from where Rosie is sleeping, brushes a stray hair from her face, and walks back to the guest room. Dimitri changes into the trousers and finds a vest in the wardrobe. Finally, he lies down in the bed, waiting patiently until he hears the water stop and the difference in sound as Erin gets into bed.

Satisfied that everyone will sleep well, and exhausted from the day of walking, Dimitri falls into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Please review :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Dimitri is woken by a sudden weight, and as his mind immediately flashes back to the previous night, he suppresses the spook urges that try to force him out of the bed in a quick instant. Rosie has come bounding in, closely followed by an apologetic looking Erin, somehow even more beautiful than the night before. She lies on top of his chest, clearly not worried about waking him. "Deeee," she whines, pulling at his arm as if there had been any doubt that he would have slept through her arrival.

He opens his eyes with a smile and tickles the girl until she moves off of him, allowing him to prop himself up on his arms, and push himself out of the bed, stretching as he moves.

Erin can't stop her eyes lingering as she takes in his dishevelled early morning appearance, appreciating the ripple of his muscles under the skin of his lean bare arms, and the vest that clings to his defined chest. She blinks it away, and looks at him as he lifts Rosie off of the bed as he stands. "Breakfast?"

He nods and follows them both to the kitchen, sitting down to eat the bacon that Erin seems to have found in the fridge. He smiles at her when Rosie's attention is diverted, and they eat with a quiet conversation.

"Rosie, we're leaving in an hour, okay?"

She nods, though her eyebrows crease as she turns to Dimitri. "Can we come back soooon?"

Erin intercepts the question, "Darling, Dee doesn't want us here all the time. He has friends and things…" She trails off unconvincingly, and she knows that she'd like to come back just as much as Rosie. Erin still isn't sure whether this is really going to happen though; the couple thing.

Rosie shoots an accusative look at him and he widens his eyes in innocence. "You said we were your best friends."

Dimitri nods away her offended expression. "You are. You're welcome anytime you like." He smiles and looks at Erin, making sure what he's offered is okay; it is.

Rosie slips off of the chair and runs back towards the guest room to pack away her things, and Dimitri takes the opportunity to plant a morning kiss on Erin's lips. She smiles underneath him and he moves away at the sound of Rosie's padding footsteps on their way back down the hall.

Erin smiles at his understanding when it comes to Rosie, and he suggests that she go get changed. She comes back twenty minutes later in jeans and a blue jumper, and walks through to the living room where Dimitri and Rosie sit watching another cartoon. Erin smiles at Rosie who is snuggled at Dimitri's side, his long arm reaching around her body as they both look entirely comfortable in each other's company.

Dimitri, seemingly more engrossed in the cartoon than Rosie, continues watching until she shrugs out of his grasp. He stands up with an uncharacteristically shy smile, and follows them down to the lobby, still clad in his sleepwear. He walks out barefoot and throws their bags on the backseat. Rosie climbs into the passenger seat and Dimitri gently pulls Erin out of her view.

He pins her against the car and lowers his mouth to hers. They both feel the warmth as their lips meet, the cool air chilling the rest of their faces. He pulls away just enough that their foreheads lean against each other, hesitating for a second before he speaks. "Can you do dinner this week? Alone?"

She nods underneath him, and he presses another quick kiss to her lips before straightening himself out. He looks into her eyes for another lingering moment, before releasing her hand and opening her door for her.

He bends down and waves goodbye to Rosie. She waves back and Dimitri smiles at her mother, "See you tomorrow."

**A/N: So that's it…I hope those of you who've read enjoyed this. Pleeasssee leave a review, I'd love to hear what everyone thought. **


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